Reporter Lee Sang-cheol = Japanese baseball team pitcher Sasaki Loki (Chiba Lotte Marines), who is participating in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), overwhelms batters by throwing a fast ball of up to 160 km in his first real pitch this year.
Sasaki started a practice match against the Yakult Swallows held at Nishizaki Sports Park in Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture on the 15th and pitched well with 1 hit and 5 strikeouts in 2 innings. He threw a total of 29 balls and had a maximum speed of 160 km.
The Japanese baseball team is convened in Miyazaki on the 17th, and Sasaki played the game before joining.
On this day, Sasaki showed great strength by throwing heavy fastballs, sharp forkballs, and sliders, striking out from the first batter to the fourth batter. 바카라사이트
In particular, the highlight was the confrontation with Munateka Murakami, the 4th hitter of Yakult, which was completed twice. Sasaki set the record for the most home runs (56) by Japanese last year and threw a 160 km straight ball against Murakami, who was awarded the MVP of the Central League, striking out on a swing.
Sasaki allowed the first hit to Hideki Nagaoka, but finished his duties lightly handling the next two batters.
Sasaki, who throws a ball with a maximum speed of 164 km, is attracting attention as the next-generation ace in Japanese professional baseball. On April 10 last year, against the Orix Buffaloes, he struck out 13 batters in a row without giving up a single hit or 4 balls, striking out a total of 19. At the age of 20 years and 5 months, he achieved the youngest perfect game in Japanese professional baseball did.
Sasaki, who pitched in 20 games in the 2022 season and recorded 9 wins and 4 losses, an ERA of 2.02 and 173 strikeouts, was named to the final WBC roster for the Japanese baseball team.
Sports Nippon commented, “Sasaki said, ‘You have to do what you can to win.’ He’s doing what he can right now.”
Meanwhile, Japan was drawn in Group B with Korea, Australia, China, and the Czech Republic in the first round of the 2023 WBC, and the Korea-Japan match will be held at the Tokyo Dome on March 10.